Blake and The Choice
by kalinda001
Summary: Blake is faced with a difficult choice. Will he make the right decision?


Blake stood looking through the glass partition and the shiny box sitting on a stone table. He sucked on the tip of his thumb. Ancient runes were etched onto the surface of the stone surface. A single pattern of symbols repeated over and over.

"The Choice." What did it mean? Avon had checked everything. The radiation levels inside the chamber were lethal. A minute's exposure would result in death in less than an hour. That was why Avon was back on the ship, to get the radiation suit.

But that wasn't the most important thing about the chamber. It was the box sitting on top. Supposedly the most deadly instrument in the galaxy. Or so that legends claimed. Capable of destroying a planet with a single press. If it was true, it would be the ultimate weapon against the Federation.

Avon had said it was a trick to fool the gullible and that it must be a trap. The man was far too paranoid. They had to take a chance. He wasn't happy when ordered to go into the chamber, but he was the only one who had the technical skills to do it. And besides, Avon was never happy about anything. As long as he did as he was told, that's all Blake cared about.

He looked at his wrist chronometer. "Damn it, Avon. Where are you?" Could he be stalling? Ever since that little incident on XK-72, he'd been very careful never to have Avon and Jenna on the ship together without him. He glanced over at his golden-haired pilot checking out the door panel to the chamber. She brushed a stray lock from her face.

"Blake," Cally touched his shoulder and he nearly jumped.

"Cally." He turned to look at her. "What is it?"

"Have you seen these readings?" She angled her scanner to show him the screen. "The radiation levels are dangerously high."

"We know that, Cally," he said reasonably. "That's why Avon is getting the radiation suit." What was keeping him? He tapped his teleport bracelet. "Avon, where are you? We only have ten minutes left." After which the weapon would disappear into a dimensional void for another hundred years. Inaccessible to anyone. They _had_ to get that weapon. It was getting warm.

Cally looked like she wanted to say something else, but they had no time.

Avon's voice responded in a crackled reply, "…radiation spikes…weather front…delay…"

Blake's eyes hardened. "If we miss this chance, there won't be another one for a hundred years! I'll be dead by then."

Avon's voice mumbled something incoherent but it sounded like, "we can only hope."

"I don't care how you do it, get down here now!"

Static greeted his order.

Blake tapped on his bracelet again but a human form outlined in on the other side of the room and Avon appeared wearing a white, bulky radiation suit, a clear helmet in his gloved hands and a tool kit slung across his shoulder. His eyes were dark as he spotted Blake. "You rang." No one's tone could sound quite so flat and sarcastic as Avon's voice.

"What took you so long?" snapped Blake.

"A solar flare interfered with…"

"Get in there. You only have…" He looked at his chronometer, the lines around his eyes tensing. "Nine minutes!"

Avon stared at him a moment, his jaw tensing. He snapped the helmet on and twisted the seal to lock the collar.

"Are you ready?" Jenna asked, standing by the door panel.

"Ready." His tone was even flatter than normal.

"Good luck."

He stared at her a moment, perhaps not expecting such sentiments from her. But something was changing. " Luck has nothing to do with it."

"Everyone needs luck, Avon."

Avon glanced over at Blake, the corners of his mouth curling down and said under his breath, "Some more than others."

"What did you say?" She leaned closer to catch the words.

"Open the door," he said, an icy chill in his voice.

"It's your funeral." She pressed the controls and the heavy windowed door creaked open.

Avon stepped through and it closed behind him, trapping him in the smaller chamber until the other door opened. This one seemed to slide easier than the first one. The brightness of the light panels made him blink and he lifted a gloved hand to block the glare until his eyes adjusted. The air was fresh, not stale as he expected. Crackling sounds came over his helmet speakers. He waved to the others watching through the glass. Most likely Blake barking orders. Telling him to hurry. Eight minutes. He nodded and stepped forward, his booted feet clomping on the stone floor.

"The Choice." He had translated the inscription, but not the meaning. It had something to do with the box, that much was certain. Avon opened the flap of his tool kit and set to work quickly.

Cally touched the glass, worry on her face. She turned to her companion. "Blake."

"What is it, Cally?" he asked irritably, not taking his eyes off the white figure inside.

"We have to get him out of there. It's not safe."

He half-faced her, while keeping his eyes on Avon. "What are you talking about? He has the radiation suit."

"That's what I was trying to tell you before." She held out the scanner and tapped a control. A graph appeared on the small screen. "The radiation levels have been increasing exponentially. The radiation suit will not protect him more than two minutes, three at the most. Then he'll receive a lethal dose."

Blake bit on his thumb. "We have radiation meds."

She snapped in annoyance, remembering the last time Blake refused to listen. "_And I already told you the meds won't work for this type of radiation_."

"We'll double the dose. Triple it."

Cally's voice rose. "It doesn't work like that. We have to get him out of there!"

She took a step towards the door but he put his hand on her shoulder. He pressed the comm link and kept his voice calm, unconcerned, "Avon, how much longer?"

The speaker crackle and they saw Avon's hand press a button next to him. "Four minutes." He continued working.

"Blake!" Cally said in alarm. "He's already been in there three minutes. We have to get him out!"

Blake's hand tightened on her shoulder and his eyes became hard diamonds, ready to cut into anyone standing in his way. "_No_."

Hearing the heated conversation, Jenna came over. "What's wrong?"

"He's killing Avon!" she was close to shouting.

"What do you mean, killing Avon? He has a radiation suit on."

"She worries too much," Blake laughed warmly, his hard eyes twinkling, sharing a knowing quarter smile with Jenna.

Jenna nodded and glanced at Cally. She and Blake had guessed about Avon's relationship with Cally. Mutual affinities, Blake had called it. They knew before that little incident when Cally was injured by the Avalon robot. "Avon will be fine."

"You don't understand, Jenna." She shoved the scanner at her. "Look at the readings."

Blake belatedly tried to grab it but Jenna took it.

"But these readings…" Jenna's mouth opened in shock and she looked Cally.

"That's what I've been trying to tell him."

"We have to get the weapon, Jenna," said Blake, his voice feverish. "This is our only chance. With this weapon we can destroy the Federation!"

"And Avon?" asked Jenna.

"There is no way I'm going to give up this chance," his eyes flashed with fervour and Cally wondered about Avon's warning.

_He's a fanatic, Cally. __He wades in blood up to his armpits. _

Was Avon right? And Blake was adding Avon's blood to the pool?

"Avon is going to die," said Cally.

"He won't," Blake stressed, staring through the glass.

"I don't think you care whether he does or he doesn't," said Jenna bitterly, remembering another time when she accused Blake of not caring whether Cally lived or died. The only thing that mattered to him then was fighting the Federation. He couldn't spare an hour to find out why Cally was in a coma or to help her.

"One thing at a time, Jenna!" Blake yelled, his patience wearing thin.

"Avon is not a _thing_!" Cally went towards the door but Blake clamped his hand over her wrist, crushing it.

"NO!" he shouted and he glared murderously at both of them.

Cally grimaced at the punishing grip. She remembered that look. Blake had it when he confronted Sarkoff, when he kidnapped the man and brought him on the ship.

"Avon was right."

"Avon is _not_ right. This weapon will make us winners! Don't you see? That's the only excuse for fighting!"

"It makes us murders." Jenna went to the door panel.

"No!" He lunged towards her but it was too late. Jenna pressed the button and the inner door opened.

Avon's voice was heard over the speaker. "I'm not finished. One more minute."

"Avon, you're dying. The radiation…" Her heart was heavy. "It…is increasing exponentially. Your suit doesn't protect you anymore. You've already received a lethal dosage."

"Ah." He straightened and stared at them a moment and bent back to his task.

"Avon, didn't you hear me?" She banged on the glass, her voice quivering.

"I heard." He concentrated on the last connection. "I need one more minute."

"You have to get out of there," said Jenna, touching the glass.

"As you said, I have already received a lethal dosage. All I can do is finish this task." He lifted the box and the glowing light panels turned off.

"Bring it here!" said Blake excitedly, his eyes on the answer to all his problems.

Avon stared at him, like a man who was already dead, and stepped into the lock. Jenna activated the seals and Avon came out, his legs unsteady. Cally helped him out.

Blake grabbed the box out of his hands. "You all right?" he asked perfunctorily.

"For now." Cally guided him to a chair and he sat down heavily. She removed his helmet and opened up her med kit.

Blake stared at the box. The inscription on the top, in ornate lettering, was the same as the rest of the chamber. _The Choice_. "Well, I choose to win." He slid the thin rod to the side and flipped the lid. Inside was a single white sheet of parchment.

"What is this?" The alien inscriptions floating and changed before his eyes until it became Federation Standard.

_You have made The Choice._

_You have become the weapon._

_You are now ready to win_.

Blake's expression was blank and his eyes empty at yet another failure.

"You lost, Blake," Avon's voice rasped. He was leaning against Cally, his face getting paler by the minute. "I will die and the crew will leave you. Isn't that what we both said? Ironic that the death will be mine." He slumped forward.

"Avon!" Cally cried out, holding him close, tears streaming down her face. "No!"

Blake stared at them, but the flicker of life in his eyes could not overcome the void he felt inside.

Jenna walked up to him and suddenly grabbed the bracelet off wrist. She stepped back quickly and pointed her gun at him. "Avon was right. You lost."

"What is this, Jenna?" He took a step towards her, his arms open. "_It's me, Blake_."

"And that is why we're leaving you here." She stuffed the bracelet into her pocket.

"Cally, don't let her do this," pleaded Blake.

Lifting a tear-stained face, Cally said, her voice tight with anger, "Like you did with Avon? I should have stopped you!"

"I had no choice, don't you see?" He took another step towards Jenna but she waved him back. "I was wrong. Totally wrong. I admit that."

"Don't come any closer," she warned, knowing that once he did, he would disarm her. "Don't you mean that you were wrong about the weapon? That is what you meant, isn't it? You don't think murdering Avon was wrong at all." The criticism was biting, taking a chunk out of Blake's hard flesh. He hadn't heard this voice from her in several weeks.

"I did not murder him!"

"You just caused his death," her sarcasm slapped him in the face.

"Give me that bracelet, now!" He lunged for her but Jenna shot him in the leg and he crumpled to the ground.

"You shot me!"

"How observant of you," she said icily, her gun hand steady. "And I will shoot you in the other leg if you try to get up."

"Jenna." Cally looked at her with surprise on her face. "Don't kill him."

"He won't stop until he kills everyone, Cally. There isn't anything he wouldn't do, even betray the human race if it would help his cause," said Jenna. "Avon was right from the beginning. He was right about Blake, about everything."

Cally nodded sadly. "I didn't want to believe it, but he isn't the Blake we first met. I don't think he ever was."

"It was all an insane dream. That's what Avon said on the _London_." Her eyes unfocused, remembering that scene in the computer room. "And we killed all those people for nothing."

"For nothing." Cally looked ill. "Let's go back to the ship. I…don't want to leave Avon, with _him_."

"Jenna, Cally…" Blake pleaded but Jenna brought her bracelet up.

"Three to teleport."

Vila's voice asked, "Three? What happened to Blake?"

"He's…dead," said Jenna. "I'll explain later. Get us up."

"No!" Blake reached for the disappearing forms and the lights went out all over the complex as it phased back into the dimensional void for another hundred years. The last echoes of his screamd were cut off.

Back on the ship, the crew gathered around Avon's body in the medical bay. Cally's tears dripped down, wetting his radiation suit. Her fingers were clumsy as she tried to remove it.

"We'll help you," said Jenna.

"Yeah, we can do it," said Vila. His face was ashen and he kept looking at Avon's face as he helped slide off the suit. He rested his hand on his chest and sighed sadly. "Wait." He put his ear to Avon's chest. "I think he's still alive."

They all looked at Avon, shocked.

"I mean, it's almost gone, but I can hear something."

Cally felt for the pulse at Avon's neck, faint hope in her eyes. "There might be…Jenna, get that vial on the top shelf, the blue one."

She injected a large dose into his arm. Avon's body stiffened and arched up. He groaned weakly and his eyes fluttered beneath the lids. "He's…alive."

"But for how long?" asked Jenna.

"We'll find a cure. We have to!" said Cally.

"What about Blake?" asked Vila.

Jenna's voice was harsh. "Blake, who?"


End file.
